Posts Tagged ‘Marine Corps realignment’

The Navy last week released its environmental review for a revised realignment of Marines from Okinawa to Guam agreed to in 2012, signaling the likely resumption of the Navy’s effort to ready Guam to accommodate the arrival of about 5,000 Marines. As a result of the scaled-down move, the cantonment area, housing and live fire training range needed to accommodate the relocation will be confined to the military’s existing footprint on Guam, according to the final supplemental environmental impact statement. The Navy’s original plan called for the acquisition of 1,688 acres of land from either the local government or private landowners, reported the Pacific Daily News. “This is a very important step forward in the relocation effort, and the Department of Defense has worked diligently to address the core concerns that were raised by our community,” said Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo …

The draft fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill passed by the House last week would amend existing restrictions on the development of civilian infrastructure on Guam by allowing funding for projects identified in a report from the federal Economic Adjustment Committee. The FY 2014 defense authorization bill had restricted the expenditure of any funds on public infrastructure on Guam that had not been specifically authorized by law. That statute also called for EAC to consider assistance — including assistance to support public infrastructure requirements — needed to accommodate the realignment of Marine Corps forces from Okinawa …

The Navy on Monday released a draft environmental impact statement for the construction of live-fire ranges, training courses and maneuver areas in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) needed to support the realignment of 5,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam. “Establishing unit and combined level [range training areas] in the CNMI would support ongoing operational requirements, changes to U.S. force structure, geographic repositioning of forces and U.S. training relationships with allied nations,” according to the April 6 Federal Register notice. The Navy’s preferred alternatives for the training facilities are on the islands of Tinian and Pagan …

A freeze on spending construction funds from the Pentagon and the government of Japan on projects in Guam needed to accommodate an influx of Marines would be lifted under the final version of the fiscal 2015 defense authorization bill. In recent years, leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee had barred the United States from spending money needed to prepare Guam for the realignment of about 5,000 Marines from Okinawa due to concerns over the lack of a DOD implementation plan for the buildup. Japan so far has contributed $1 billion out of the $3 billion it pledged to support the move …

Officials from the Navy and Guam held a ribbon cutting Wednesday for the island’s reconstructed main thoroughfare in Hagatna, a $16.4 million federally funded project needed to accommodate the relocation of thousands of Marine Corps troops from Okinawa to Guam. Improvements included the removal and replacement of the six-lane bridge over the Agana River in the capital and the addition of new lanes linking the two roads for motorists traversing to the southern end of the island, reported Navy public affairs. “This was the Department of Defense’s work on outside-the-fence contracts,” said Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo …

The fiscal 2015 defense authorization bill approved last month by the Senate Armed Services Committee would extend the ban on the use of U.S. or Japanese funds for facilities on Guam needed to accommodate the arrival of Marine Corps forces from Okinawa until the Defense Department completes a master plan for construction needed to support the buildup. “The bill approved by the committee makes the hard choices necessary to preserve our military readiness and uphold our obligations to our men and women in uniform and their families in a difficult fiscal environment …

The House Armed Services’ Readiness Subcommittee is directing DOD to conduct a feasibility study for relying on a public-private venture to provide military housing on Guam following the arrival of about 4,000 Marines from Okinawa beginning in the mid-2020s, according to report language accompanying the panel’s portion of the fiscal 2015 defense authorization bill. The report should address any factors that could inhibit establishment of such a venture, and assess the current backlog and projected backlogs in family housing under the department’s five-year spending plan …

The Navy’s revised plan for relocating 4,700 Marines from Okinawa to Guam would extend the timetable for constructing facilities to accommodate the move from seven to 13 years, eliciting praise from the government of Guam. The plan would diminish the realignment’s impact on Guam’s infrastructure and residents, as a smaller military footprint results in a lower demand for power, water and wastewater treatment, according to the draft supplemental environmental impact statement the Navy released last week …

The governor of Okinawa last week approved the start of construction for the replacement for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, a move that no longer is directly linked to the realignment of thousands of Marines from Okinawa to Guam but one that remains vital to rebalancing the footprint of U.S. Armed Forces in Japan. “This decision comes after many years of sustained effort between the United States and Japan, and it is the most significant milestone achieved in these realignment efforts so far,” according to a written statement issued by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel …

Despite scaling down the scope of the realignment of Marines from Okinawa to Guam, the Defense Department has not reexamined its estimate of the island’s public infrastructure needs, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). That revalidation is not expected to be completed until 2015. Under the current realignment plan, which was revised in April 2012, up to 5,000 Marines will relocate to Guam beginning in the mid-2020s …